


blossom forever

by celestialcaptor



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Angst in all forms, Depression, F/F, F/M, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Inspired by a Mitski Song, Love Triangles, M/M, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, Substance Abuse, Title from a Mitski Song, based off of francis forever LOL
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:48:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28354935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celestialcaptor/pseuds/celestialcaptor
Summary: "I think we need to break up."Those words ever so haunted Blossom's lips. Love is complicated and feelings even more so.
Relationships: Abigail/Haley (Stardew Valley), Alex/Female Player (Stardew Valley), Emily/Leah (Stardew Valley), Penny/Sam (Stardew Valley), Sebastian/Female Player (Stardew Valley)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 23





	1. A Blossom at 3am

>   
>  I've been trying to lay my head down  
>  But I'm writing this at 3 am  
> 

The first time he saw her was the second night of Spring of her first year; he hated that the date was already engraved in the inside of his head like a gold ring even though it was only days ago. Sebastian spent the whole day fixing lines of code for some security firm on the outskirts of Zuzu City. So, he was out longer for his nightly stroll or well smoke by the lake.

That’s when he saw her— the new farmer who came in the day prior to live on the forgotten farm a few minutes from his house. The new farmer whom his mother couldn’t stop talking about for the last two nights. The new farmer whom he did not know the name of despite her being the talk of their small small town. 

_Arabella? Daisy? Tulip?_ Yeah, he couldn’t put his finger on it. 

Sebastian was half way past his third blunt when he first saw her limping out of the abandoned mines, where he and Abigail would occasionally spelunk on nights when they were super stoned. He found it strange yet funny that she wore a skirt to go down the caves. However, it was around three am and he grew a little worried about whether or not she would make it back home safely... an expression foreign to his stoic demeanor. 

_Hey, do you need help?_ He practiced the line in his head over and over again and cursed at his fear as she grew closer. Suddenly, his thoughts dissipated along with the smoke as she was now a few meters away from where he stood. Maybe he was stoned because she seemed to shine in the flickering glow of his house’s outdoor lamps. 

“Uh, are you okay?” Her voice was soft, conscious of the night’s silence. His pinking eyes look straight at the deep brown eyes from his thoughts. 

“I should be asking you that.” Sebastian passed a small joke, ill-fitting for the situation they were in, and eyed the soot clinging to the slime condensation and wounds on her exposed skin and hair. She must have journeyed into deeper levels than he could ever, judging by her exhausted limp and small yet filled to the brim backpack. “You look like you’ve literally been to hell and back.”

“Because I have.” She handed him a laugh— that he found _oh_ so charming— just so effortlessly. 

“Do you want me to walk you back home,” He fumbled through his words and dropped his last blunt he was barely through. 

“I think I’ll be fine,” She said nervously while he was stomping on said blunt to avoid a forest fire, which was understandable since, “I don’t even know your name.” 

“Oh, um Sebastian,” He stuttered, nervous she might find him a pervert, “I’m Robin’s son.”

“Oh.” Her mouth turned into a matching “o” shape— a common response to those learning the fact. “Sorry, I was expecting him to be younger since you know, she looks so young.” Her awkwardness was cute. “But I don’t want to be a bother or anything.”

“You’re not.” His voice grew embarrassingly higher in reassurance. “You know, it’s the middle of the night… I mean, I want to.” 

“Uh, sure.” Her smile was weak but still destroyed his then weakening composure that he now blames on the high he was lost in. 

“I thought you were going to walk me back.” Her cautious statement dragged Sebastian out of his high—that he swears was from drugs not emotions—and looked back at her standing by the long way back to the farm. 

“I’ll show you the shortcut.” He noticed the growing wariness on her face, “There's a path that cuts just near the broken greenhouse on your farm. I used to go a lot with Sam and Abigail before you moved in.” 

“I’ll trust you I guess,” She sighed, she was too tired to argue. Sebastian matched her short strides as they walked along the short path in silence. 

“So, you just moved in, right?” She gave him a tired nod to his obvious icebreaker, “Cool.” The trip was too short, its entirety made Sebastian regret showing her the shortcut. 

“This is me which you already knew.” Yoba. She was so awkward. “Goodnight Sebastian.” 

“Goodnight um…”

“Blossom.” She gave him a parting smile that Sebastian found had a relatable somber vibe. “I’m Blossom.” 

“Goodnight Blossom.” A grin uncontrollably budded on his face. _Blossom._ A fitting name for a farmer but a name that pleasantly weeded his mind.


	2. three am contextualized

Blossom didn’t know why she opened her grandfather’s letter, that he basically gave to her on his deathbed, that she saved all those years. She didn’t know why it was in her desk’s top drawer at her work either. But she didn’t dwell on that thought for long as she felt the limp, aged fold of the envelope. 

_Ah, the signature Stardust Farm wax seal._ Looking at that matte green seal with star indent unlocked forgotten memories of her late grandfather. She carefully lifted it from where it stayed for eighteen years and read the contents.

>   
>  Dear Blossom,
> 
> If you’re reading this, you must be in dire need of a change. 
> 
> The same thing happened to me, long ago. I’d lost sight of what mattered most in life… real connections with other people and nature. So I dropped everything and moved to the place I truly belong. 
> 
> I’ve enclosed the deed to that place… my pride and joy: Stardust Farm. It’s located in Stardew Valley, on the southern coast. It’s the perfect place to start your new life.
> 
> This was my most precious gift of all, and now it’s yours. I know you’ll honor the family name, my girl. 
> 
> Love, Grandpa
> 
> P.S If Lewis is still alive say hi to the old guy for me, will ya? 

_Wow._ She didn’t expect her grandfather would have that great of expectations of her. _Real connections with other people and nature?_ Two of the only things Zuzu City could never provide. She doubted she could grant her grandfather’s wishes… especially after what happened last week.

 _“I think we should break up.”_ Her past words were like a ghost on her lips. Francis was the perfect guy in the whole world by definition and he still is. The type who unexpectedly send you flowers on a rough work day. The type who insisted on opening the door for you when you get out of his car. The type who whispered sweet nothings even outside of the gentle sex you both had on the weekends. She really loved Francis and she still loved him—but she felt nothing. 

She felt absolutely empty with him, work, and even the city. She was hollow. She looked around her abysmal workplace and saw the literal corpses in the cubicles surrounding her. She then realized she matched those corporate cadavers.

Zuzu City loved dreams but Joja was the one who gobbled and swallowed them whole. It was then when she stopped writing on her monthly analytics report and started writing her letter of resignation. 

And now here Blossom was— in the depths of the mines in small small Pelican Town. It was her second night in the valley and she had barely talked to anyone in town, outside of the customary “Welcome to Pelican Town” conversation she had with Mayor Lewis and another villager yesterday. At least she was fulfilling one of her grandfather’s wishes, she started working on the farm. She spent all day yesterday clearing out land for the fifteen packets of parsnip seeds Mayor Lewis gave to her and least to say, she was winded after two hours and retired to the dusty mattress he left her. 

Now she began wondering how Francis reacted when she suddenly sold her shoebox apartment in the lower east side of Zuzu and moved out to the south of nowhere without telling him. She began to wonder if she was treating the three years worth of memories of them together like how she felt everyday.

 _Like it was nothing._ And then she had slime guts all over her. 

After killing the last few slimes that tried pinning her to a corner, Blossom took the elevator back to the surface, barely even standing straight with the weight of stones and coal that filled her tiny backpack. She checked her watch to see it was now three am. _Shit, I have to work tomorrow._ Thus, she began preparing herself for the long trudge home, ignoring anything on the way, even the open wounds on her legs lined with coal dust and slime. 

And then, there was that familiar smell of Mary Jane that brought her back to college, where she met… 

And then, there were fits of coughs that distracted her from that rushing thought. She looked up from the ground to see some guy desperately choking on the smoke from his last blunt. 

“Uh, are you okay?” She managed to get out, staring at him while he struggled to refind his resolve. 

And then, he looked up at her with a weird face illuminated by the house nearby. _Weird expression sounds a little better._

And then, her eyes found his dark eyes that were almost like… 

_Obsidian._ She tried to hide the bewildering expression on her face. 

“I should be asking you that,” His remark made her finally look at the trail of slime all over her bare legs and clothes and find the open wounds that circled her knees. 

_Why did I wear a skirt today?_

“You look like you’ve literally been to hell and back.” That earned a snort from her. 

“Because I have.” That was true. She had gone so deep into the mines that she forgot what level she left on; with each passing level, there were even more monsters waiting to attack her. 

“Do you want me to walk you back home?” She barely noticed his nervousness through her exhaustion. She almost forgot it was three am.

“I think I’ll be fine.” She didn't want to keep him up, even though he was already up. “I don’t want to be a bother.” This was true, he was a stranger and she didn’t want to inconvenience him.

“Oh um Sebastian,” The boy uttered awkwardly and impulsively, which confused her, “I’m Robin’s son.” It took her a few seconds to remember Robin was the name of the villager that visited her yesterday, which also further confused her because…

“... I was expecting you to be younger since you know, she looks so young.” She felt extremely awkward but at least she knows his name now. Anyways, she digressed, “But I don’t want to be a bother or anything.” 

“You’re not.” Sebastian’s high stutters made her realize it was awkward for him too, “You know, it's the middle of the night… I mean, I want to.” At least he had good intentions.

“Uh, sure.” That’s all she could manage to say for now. Sebastian showed her the shortcut to the farm to avoid stumbling under the loads of rocks she collected mining, while also carrying that said backpack in which she protested but gave up due to her exhaustion.

“So, you just moved right?” She could only nod as she snuck glances at him. Sebastian was the definition of an emo young adult. Sebastian had long, inky black bangs parted to the left of his face, almost entirely covering his left eye. The next thing she noticed was the dark purple hoodie that she assumed hid the muscles underneath that could nonchalantly withstand the weight of hundreds of stones. Then, there was his obsidian eyes that twinkled in the dim light of the stars. “Cool.”

“This is me… which you already knew.” With that, their oh so short trip was over, which she oddly regretted. “Goodnight Sebastian.” Her awkwardness muttered her words.

“Goodnight um…” She realized she never told him her name.

“Blossom.” She tiredly exclaimed, giving him that signature smile she always gave in Zuzu unti she saw hesitation on his face. “I’m Blossom.” 

“Well, goodnight Blossom.” Sebastian quickly turned around and headed back home. She watched the darkness of his clothing begin to blend in with the darkness of the night before she locked herself in her grandfather’s cabin. Blossom could’ve sworn she saw a hint of a smile on his seemingly desolate face. A hint of a smile that had slowly begun to plant seeds in rows of her brain and replaced the old hollow weeds that lived there prior.


	3. i look up at the gaps of sunlight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: implied self-harm in this chapter

It was the fourth day of spring and now, his eyes found her right outside Pierre’s. Sebastian could finally gain a somewhat good look at her. She had dark brown hair that ran roughly past her shoulders. She also had freckles that dotted her paling tan skin that could be seen meters away from where he was standing. He could also see her groceries were sprawled out on the floor along with her and Alex, the future gridball player as he liked to call himself, who was helping her. 

_More like wannabe gridball player._ Sebastian wasn’t too fond of him. They all went to high school together a few years back. Nothing much has changed since then. Sebastian was the definition of an emo loner and Alex was the definition of the all-star quarterback who would eventually fall off of his peak a year after high school. _It’s not like I’m doing that great either._ That was true. 

“I’m so so sorry,” Blossom cried and scrambled to pick up the packets she dropped. “Yoba, I wasn’t looking where I was going…” 

“It’s fine,” He interrupted her worrying and helped her pick up her things. “I dealt with worse on the gridball field.” _Ah, here he goes..._

“Oh, well thank you.” Her mannerisms were awkward as usual. 

“Hey, wait, you’re the new girl right?” His eyes finally looked at her and realized the unfamiliarity between them. She gave a curt nod before he continued, “I think we’re going to get along great. I’m Alex.” There was a small silence that proceeded. 

“Oh, I’m Blossom.” 

“I’ll see you around.” Alex threw her that smile that he tossed around to all the girls in town and went back to his house. A growing scowl could now be found on Sebastian’s face, which was usual for him but odd since he was with Sam and had a joint in between two of his fingers.

“Sebastian?” Sam had been repeating his name for the entirety of that scene. “Sebastian, are you okay?”

“Sorry, I was er high?” Sebastian’s eyes didn’t leave Blossom and he made that fact quite obvious to the people around him. 

“Must be some high then.” Sebastian recognized Sam’s horrible sarcastic tone.

“What are you even talking about,” He said in a large inhale of smoke to avoid the subject, enabling Sam to further embarrass his friend.

“Hey Blossom!” Sebastian was going to kill Sam. 

The parsnips grew nicely over those fours days; Blossom was in awe of how fast they grew. Before heading out, she put about five in the collection box Mayor Lewis set up for her and kept about ten to sell to Pierre to buy more seeds. She considered going down mines again for the third time this week, to find another excuse to avoid introducing herself to the townspeople, but she saw a program on her television that scared her not to. 

She walked along the path that cut straight to town. It felt oddly nostalgic for some reason. She did visit the valley to see her late grandfather but the scenery didn’t remind her of _those_ memories. Her mind oddly flew back all the way back to Zuzu City.

I end up on a tree-lined street  
I look up at the gaps of sunlight  
I miss you more than anything 

She could see did miss him more than anything. She found the memories poured in with the sunlight but they became distorted with the noise of the words, “I think we need to break up.” She was in a trance listening to that discord on repeat the entirety of her grocery trip. Luckily, an outside force slammed her out of her trance. 

“Oh, I am so sorry,” She gasped and picked herself up; there goes her plan of not socializing. What worsened the matter was how young he looked, he made her seem a little older even though she was only twenty-five. “Yoba, I wasn’t looking where I was going…” 

“It's fine, I dealt with worse on the gridball field.” His laugh brought more attention to his high school’s varsity jacket. 

The years she spent in high school started groaning in her head until she realized the embroidered year he got that jacket was around five years ago. 

“Hey, wait, you’re the new girl right?” She forgot she stuck out like a sore thumb in a town so small that everyone had already known each other for years. “I think we’re going to get along great. I’m Alex.” At least he was welcoming, not to say the guy whom she met two days seemed wasn’t but she felt less on edge. 

“Oh, I’m Blossom.” She let out an awkward smile before waving him off. _At least that was over with._

“Hey Blossom,” An unfamiliar voice came out from the distance. Blossom peered around to see where it came from and tracked it down a few meters close to a bridge of some sort; it belonged to some blonde guy with the guy who she met yesterday. She cursed foreign words under her breath.

 _What was his name again?_ Blossom’s mind rushed to find that information as she cautiously approached them. She squinted to get a better look at him to see if she could remember that way, unbeknownst to the face he was staring right back at her with sweat dripping down his palms. 

“Ah, Sebastian,” Blossom let out a small gasp, not meaning to say his name out loud. His friend turned to him in a cheeky manner.

“Hey Blossom.” Sebastian’s voice gave out a little bit, causing him to hope that Sam didn’t notice. Sam suddenly felt like the third-wheel but he found the silence funnily endearing. “Uh... this is my friend Sam.” 

“Good to meet you Blossom,” Sam gave Sebastian a smirk that encouraged his need to kill him. 

“Um, what did you need me for?” _Oh Yoba, I hate Sam. I really do._

“We just wanted to get the new farmer.” Sebastian envied Sam’s brightness. “Sorry if we’re keeping you from farming or something.” She gave the two an unreadable look. 

“Oh um…” Her plan to avoid the townspeople again today had failed. “What do you want to know?” 

“How’ve you been settling in so far?” Sebastian can sense the growing anxiousness in her. 

“A lot of work but it could be better,” She paused, “Sorry uh that I hadn’t talked to you guys yet, I still gotta do a lot of work for my old job.” 

“What’d you do?”

“I was in business analytics at Joja Headquarters.” 

“I would ask how it was but I work at the Joja Mart and…”

“It’s depressing,” Her laugh interrupted him, it was cooly exhausted. “I still have a shit load of computer work but my laptop’s been working pretty slowly.” Sebastian felt Sam sneak him that same cheeky glance he'd been giving him this whole time. “You guys would be lucky to see me around fall time when I get it all done.” 

“You know…” Sam held a playfully long pause, causing Sebastian to roll his eyes, “Sebastian’s great with computers.” _Yoba, I’m going to kill him._ He really was.

“Really?” Blossom was glad to have the attention taken off of her.

“Uh… yeah, I just do freelance programming,” He said nervously. _No one really takes it seriously._

“That’s so cool.” Blossom gifted him an exclamation he wasn’t ever expecting from anyone. “Must be a lot of work.” 

“Yeah... it is,” He sighed, somewhat giddy on the idea someone actually respects his job. “But um…” Sebastian tried not feeling the pressure Sam had been putting on him for the past few minutes to talk to her. “If you need help with that uh computer, I could always stop by and…”

“Would you?” He tried to ignore the slight glitter in her eyes. “I mean, if you want to of course.” 

“He would love to,” Sam talked for him, which made him a bit glad since he swore he sounded like a creep outside of his own mind. “I know for a fact he’s available tomorrow if you want to get started on that work now.”

“I…” He was about to argue before he took a look at her awed face. “I’ll be around late if that's okay with you?”

“Yeah um I don’t really have any friends in town so I’ll be there.” 

“Well now you do.” Sam gave her the brightest smile, his name was also fitting for his sunny personality. Blossom found it quite comforting to know she wasn't such an alien in this town.

“I gotta get going to finish up some more farm work, but I’ll see you tonight,” She smiled at the two of them and went off on the Cindersap Forest trail to the farms.

“Sam, what the hell was that?” Sebastian groaned, placing his free palm onto his forehead. 

“I am being the best wingman imaginable right now.”

“Wingman? You’re a terrible one and… I barely even know her.” 

“And I literally just gave you an opportunity to get to know her. She’s really cute you know?”

“Y- are you into her?”

“I just met her,” Sam copied his words in a way that didn’t seem quite convincing to Sebastian to further his point. 

“Hmpf.” Sebastian huffed a last puff of a cigarette before shoving his box of cigarettes into Sam’s chest.

Blossom was extremely exhausted; life on the farm was even harder than she expected. She had no idea how her grandfather did it all of those years right up until he was bedridden. Her muscles were so sore from hours of farm labor and beaten from the monsters that lurked in the caves’ shadows. 

She looked at her legs that were rusted with gashes and cuts and dunked them into the water in one quick motion. She winced, the wounds seemed to burn in the cool spring waters. She hated the state she was in but it helped her ignore the memories that just seemed to rush in like the brooks around the town whenever she was free. 

_“What do you mean break up?” His face was softening from its usual bright exterior._

_“You’re just… just so perfect. And I know I don’t really deserve you for thinking this way but I’m just not… I’m just… I-I'm not...”_ Her rambling words were repeating and repeating and repeating... 

“You just got a bite, you know?” All the townspeople are really good at timing. Her words fished her out of her thoughts. Blossom rushed to reel the fish in. “A chub? And a good quality at that.” 

“Uh, hi,” She had given a loose smile. _Fuck, I should've stayed at home._ She really failed at her attempts to avoid any and all social interaction.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m Leah.” 

“Blossom and don’t worry you didn’t.” Although, she was actually pretty grateful Leah was there. She seemed like a nice distraction. 

“It’s nice to meet you. You picked a good time to move here… The spring is lovely.” 

“Yeah, I haven’t really gotten the chance to take it all in yet.” Her sigh reminded Leah of a distant memory. 

“Can I sit?” Blossom nodded, prompting her to right beside her on the riverside. Her eyes travelled to Blossom’s damaged legs that were trying to hide in the water. “What happened there?”

“I’ve been going to the mines a lot.” Her eyes wadded on the slightly red water. “Main reason why you haven’t seen me until today.” 

“You should really get that checked out,” Leah gasped, now finding a long red slash on her calf belonging to the pincer of a rock crab. “Harvey’s is still open if you want me to walk you to the clinic.”

“No,” She almost exclaimed before she contained herself. “It’s fine.” 

“If you say so,” Leah was still concerned but she wasn’t the type to push, “I gotta go but stop by my cabin if you ever need someone to talk to…” Blossom gave her a smile in courtesy. “It’s best not to be alone in a time like this.” Her smile then became an “o” shape. 

“Is it that obvious?” She kicked the water. 

“It’s written all over your face,” Leah laughed before taking two steps into her cabin. 

_I should just get back to my farm at this point._ Her eyes turned down onto her legs and brought them up to break the surface of the water once again. She'd much rather her frustration be a more obvious fact.


	4. i miss you more than anything

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: implied self-harm/some content that could be taken as self-harm

Her stomach did a multitude of different gymanstics. In other words, she was hungry. _When was the last time I ate?_ She couldn’t remember. It had been almost five days since Blossom had moved and she had about three actual meals that consisted more than just water. Her focus on maintaining the farm really was a great yet terrible fixation. 

She looked at the broken clock that her grandfather had left her. It was eleven o’clock in the morning. _Maybe I should get something to eat._ Her brain tried to lazily visualize what was in the mini-fridge Robin gifted her when she came into town. _There are a few water bottles in there I think. Maybe leftover saltines?_ Blossom really needed to eat something other than water and crackers. 

She picked herself up and lousily made her bed by tossing her blanket over the old mattress. This was her everyday routine now, and it extremely contrasted from the one she had in Zuzu City. In the city, she would wake up, immediately head to the shower, change into her outfit of the day, and then head to work with a semi-full stomach. Actually, cut the eating part, Blossom felt nauseous in the morning and never ate breakfast.

Now, she just got up and went to work. Her luxury skincare products that she often used in Zuzu were now unused in lieu for simple bar soap that she only used in the night. In cause, everyday she would look into the mirror and see the acne she left behind in her teenagehood began popping out one by one with a matching pair of eye bags. 

Blossom also lost her whole designer wardrobe too. _I had to pay for the move._ That was a lie but she did knew the truth. Not one would easily forgo a Xander Vang piece or Louise Mitton three-piece outfit for a ratty old jacket kept their grandfather and a pleated skirt they could get at any chain store. The clothes were tainted by his memory… her love for him, really. Touches and scents she wanted to ditch to avoid the pain. 

In going out, she decided to make the last minute decision to put off watering her crops till later. _They can go a few more hours without water right? I shouldn’t risk it…_ She then changed her mind and pulled out her grandfather’s old watering pail. It took her until four o’clock till she decided to walk all the way to the Stardrop Saloon.

“Well hello there!” Blossom felt a rush of warmth in the shopkeeper’s statement, “I’m Gus, chef and owner of the Stardrop Saloon.” 

“I’m Blossom.”

“Can I get you anything?” He slid her a menu he gave to tourists. She wasn’t in the mood for anything big, even though she needed it. 

“I guess a salad then.”

“It’ll take a couple of minutes but you could wait around in the lounge.” He motioned towards the attached room next to them. She walked cautiously towards the game machines in a room with a forceful familiarity, feeling like a greater anonymity than she already was. 

_Woah, Journey of the Prairie King? I haven’t seen a machine in like in ages._ She played a lot with her grandfather when she visited here. Then, she grew up and began playing it on a console in her apartment by herself. She grabbed the joystick and shoved a couple of coins inside the coin slot. 

The machine began to sing the title jingle and it was a pleasant tune that truly contrasted the difficulty of the gameplay. She circled the little cowboy in the game several times for luck until she saw the hordes of orcs rush in. She backed the little cowboy into the corner and began shooting; this was the easiest method if she wanted to beat the first couple of levels. Then, she moved her cowboy to the next corner and snagged a power up on the way. _Nice, a wagon wheel!_ She stood in place until the timer went out. She’d beat the first level and she would repeat the process for the next three levels.

“You’re really good at this game,” A girl behind her remarked, interrupting her gameplay and causing her to lose a life. 

“Abby, you messed her up.” She heard Sam playfully chastise her, again distracting from playing and again causing her to lose a life. 

“No, you both are messing her up.” _And there goes my last life._ She turned around to see Sebastian, Sam, and another one of their friends right behind her, watching. “Sorry.” 

“How long have you guys been here?” Her hands twiddled with the joystick behind her back. She wasn’t used to talking to new people yet. 

“Uhhh, since the third level,” The girl giggled. “Sorry, I haven’t seen anyone get past the first level.”

“It’s probably because you're a shit gamer.”

“Shut up Sam.” 

_Ah, how long does it take to make a salad?_ Blossom felt like she was intruding. 

“Guys…” Sebastian brought back attention to Blossom, much to her chagrin. “Blossom doesn’t know Abigail.” 

“Oh that's right… I heard someone new was moving into that old farm.”

“I’m Blossom.” 

“It’s kind of a shame, really.” _Oh._ “I always enjoyed exploring those overgrown fields by myself.” 

“Oh… uh sorry.” Blossom began to rub her neck in awkwardness. 

“Abby.” Sebastian gave her a side glance. He pleaded with her to be a little more cautious. 

“Oh… No, I didn’t mean it like that.” Abigail’s hands found their way to her mouth. 

“Oh, it's okay,” She began nervously laughing. _Why did Yoba make me this awkward?_

“Oh, Blossom, your salad is ready,” Gus had called for her. 

_Oh thank Yoba._

“Uh, see you guys around.” She gave a cautious wave to the group and headed towards the counter. She noticed the salad was wrapped in a to-go bag.

“I know it’s hard to talk to new people,” Gus whispered to her a smile. “Just don’t make this a habit.” 

“Thank you,” She mouthed before heading to the door. She was somewhat comforted by his understanding of her. 

“Way to go Abby,” Sebastian groaned right after hearing the bells of the front door chime with Blossom’s absence. He aligned his cue stick at an angle to break a few of his and Sam’s balls gathered together on one side of the pool table. 

“I said I was sorry,” Abigail frowned from the couch. “I didn’t mean it to sound so… ”

“Rude.” Sam finished her sentence. “Did I not tell you about…” Sam’s eyes obviously pointed to Sebastian. 

“Oh… Wait, the girl Sebastian was supposed to meet tonight to fix her computer?” _Holy shit._ Sebastian forgot about his promise and the hours he spent coding in the morning despised him for it. “Way to go Sebastian.” Now she was mocking him. 

“Uh Abby why don’t you play with Sam tonight?” Sebastian rushed to get his things. “He was going to lose today anyways.”

“Hey!” With that Sebastian was already out the door.

Sometimes, Blossom regretted moving away from the city; she was never too good at social interaction. It was an ironic fact since Zuzu City had thousands of people roaming around its wide streets and narrow alleys. But, at least she never saw the same person everyday outside of work and home. In the city, her embarrassing moments could easily be forgotten by the shrill of a taxi. Here, all eyes were on her… the new girl.

But, she knew she could never go back to the city.

“Blossom!” She turned around to meet Sebastian chasing after her. 

“Oh, hi Sebastian.” Her voice was small and stopped in its tracks for him to catch up with her. 

“Sorry, I almost forgot about tonight.”

“What about tonight?” It seemed she had forgotten too.

“Oh… Uh, I told you I was going to help you out with your computer.” It took her a moment to remember. 

“Oh…” Her eyes looked up in remembrance and then trailed off. “I was expecting you later tonight.” 

“Oh.” It was a word the two of them could only say right now. “Uh… Do you mind if I come over now?”

 _Sorry, I was going to brood. Maybe later?_ She was really tempted to respond with that. “Sure.” 

“Cool.” The two walked together all the way back to her house and he matched her strides. “Sorry about Abby.”

“It’s okay… I mean it's natural since it's a big change.” Sebastian felt guilty. “But I’m hardly on the farm and I haven’t done much with the land. So, technically, nothing much has changed at the same time.”

“I guess you are right, but the last thing she wanted you to feel unwelcomed or anything.”

“It’s okay.” She turned to him with a half-smile on her face. “Mind your step by the way, the staircase is really old wood.” 

Sebastian tried concealing his grimace when he came in. _This is like a dump._ There were five unopened boxes sprawled out in the living room piled right on top of layers of dust that graced the floors. However, there were three boxes that were unopened, which were labelled: technology, bedding, books. He would’ve understood if she had all the boxes opened and at least tried to settle in… but she hadn’t. 

Blossom hadn’t tried to settle into this house her grandfather gifted her and she was a little embarrassed by that fact since she now had a visitor. _Did I close up that box of panties I left out?_ Those were the only articles of clothing she had brought with her to the city albeit the five variations of the outfit she wore every day. Her eyes quickly scanned the room to figure the box was in her room. 

“Let me grab my laptop.” He nodded and waited for her on the old couch to dig it out of her room. This place was more depressing than his basement, which was a feat he thought no one could accomplish. He looked at the salad set aside on the tired yet unused table. _Maybe we should’ve invited her to hang with us… It wouldn’t have hurt right?_

 _There it is._ Her mind gasped as her foot swept the box right under her bed. She grabbed her laptop that was resting on her bedside. In honesty, she didn’t want him to fix the problem with her computer. She was really grateful that he offered his help but if he solved it, she would have to see emails and instant messages and… the photos. The memories were painful enough as it is but she had no control over them. She had no control over when they came or when they left. However, the photos gave her a choice.

“Here… Uh... let me know when it’s all started up so I can close a few things.” Her statement was very questionable but he'd hate to make her more uncomfortable than she already was. He traded her the salad she got at the saloon for the device. He was surprised at how new the model was since he doubted she was going to use it much on the farm. 

_This is bad._ Pop ups were the first thing he met when starting up her computer. Tiny advertisement windows have been following each other one after the other for the past few minutes as Blossom was munching on her salad. 

“It looks like you have a virus so it looks like I’m going to have to sweep through your computer to find the problem if you’re…” He stopped his sentence seeing she was uncomfortable with the idea. “Or we could uh... do a factory reset?”

“Sorry what does that mean?” Despite her past profession, she was bad with remembering technical terms.

“It’ll delete everything you have on your computer.” She really liked that idea.

“Okay let’s do it.” Surprise flooded his usually stoic features.

“Uh are you sure you want to do that?” She nodded her head energetically. “I mean it’s gonna be a bitch getting everything back and all your photos and stuff will be gone.”

“Yeah, it's fine.” 

“Are you really sure?” 

“Yeah, yeah. Just do it.” She’d gone on the offensive and stabbed her fork right into her lettuce leaves. She looked at Sebastian, who was giving her a very confused and subtly worried look. “Sorry, I just… I-I…” She couldn’t stop repeating that letter.

“No… we could definitely do that. I was just making sure.” Sebastian realized he had stepped onto a landmine. He watched her eyes blink twice at him and return to her barely-eaten salad.

“No… um... actually, could you go through it? I’m sorry.” Her composure was found again and was now mumbling. 

“I could also do that.” Sebastian gave her a smile, an expression odd on his face.

“Do you want the rest of my salad by the way? I’m a little full.” He looked at her weirdly. 

_How could she get full on two bites of a salad?_ Sebastian shrugged away his thought and took the cup of salad from her hands. “Thanks.” 

She nodded before propping both of her legs onto her couch and watched him in case he found anything she left open from Francis. The name, though recurring, felt weird in her head. “Sorry, do you mind me watching you?”

“Uh, no.” His eyes remained onto the computer screen. Sebastian had told a semi-truth due to the fact no one ever wanted to watch him work. Blossom was not entirely convinced but she stayed put. After clicking through the plethora of pop-ups for thirty minutes, he finally got to her desktop. He went through her downloads and looked through her most recent ones. He found that the JojaSoftware2.exe file was the last one she made in a month.

“When did this start happening?”

“I guess about a week ago when I downloaded some new software.” 

“Is it the Joja Software 2 one?” She nodded in response. “Do you have to use this new system?”

“I’m not sure but my old superior said they were going to switch to it, and it would be easier to send it through it or something.” _Yoba, that was a cruel prank they pulled._

“I think this is what’s causing the problem,” Sebastian said through his teeth and pulled the file towards her trash can. “I’m gonna download some security programs but I have free trial codes from firms I’ve worked for. Um… do you mind if I come back tomorrow?” He would bring it home but knew he would be somewhat tempted to snoop around her computer and he didn’t know if he would give into that temptation. 

“That’s okay.” He nodded and placed the laptop on the table where the salad plate made an indent on its layers of dust. “Goodnight Sebastian.” She followed him out to the door.

“Goodnight Blossom.” She waited until she saw him get off the estate before locking her cabin and going through her laptop. Her mouse was hovering over the photos icon.

> I miss you more than anything 

She really did. 


	5. i've been the best i could be

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i changed it up a little and added a reference to pink in the night by mitski :3

> Can I try again  
> Try again  
> Try again  
> Try again  
> And again  
> And again  
> And again  
> And again  
> And again

Before her alarm could wake her up, the animals chomping the leaves of her crop did.

“Yoba, you have to be kidding me,” Blossom groaned loudly to scare away all the rabbits and squirrels that were hungry that night. “Get out!” Her blank slate of a face had a scowl drawn over it. She bent down on one knee to check her plants. A good percentage of her premature potato plants were ripped out of the ground and the leaves of her green pea plants were all chewed up. She realized she lost a lot of profit. _Why didn’t I think to build a fence before I did this work?_

“Do you have any blueprints for fences?”

“Of course I do,” Robin smiled and ducked down under the counter to go through her storage. Her fingers walked along the tabs of the file folders to find the one labelled “Fences.” “Do you have a certain style in mind or?”

“Just the most durable. My crops were destroyed last night.” Her scowl had returned. 

“I’m so sorry that happened. Then, I recommend hardwood fences but you need a really sturdy axe.” Blossom was already prepared. She had met with the town blacksmith a few days ago to upgrade her axe with all the copper bits she found in the mines. “It’s gonna take you a while with a copper axe but it would be faster with a little help.” 

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Blossom sighed and paid Robin for the blueprints. 

“Oh good morning Sebby!”

_Oh no._ He thought after he turned around to tell his mother a “Good morning” and saw Blossom standing there too.

“Oh thanks for last night.” He was never going to hear the end of it from his mother.

“No problem, I found those trial passes so I’ll probably come by tonight and…” 

“Would tomorrow be better?” She stopped him there, “I actually have to do a lot of work for the farm tonight so I don’t think I’ll be done till late so…” _He must think I’m a leech._ “I better be on my way now to get started on those fences.” 

It took him a moment to process what was happening. “Wait, I could…” The bell of the front door rang with her absence. 

“So, you were at Blossom’s last night?” He could hear the smugness in his mother’s remark. 

“Maybe,” He awkwardly mumbled and went back into his basement, forgetting why he went up in the first place. 

_I didn’t expect this axe to be this heavy._ She really fitted the city girl troupe but her office job at Joja headquarters did not require physical labor. _It was more physically tolling._ Her chest felt as heavy as the axe that she held into her palms. She had been chopping at this one stump since she returned from Robin’s, which was two hours ago. She needed enough wood for a good enough perimeter for her to replant all her crops and around the area where her surviving crops were. It was going to take at least a week at this rate to get all of the wood. 

_I should’ve stayed in Zuzu... I had some friends in the city, right?_ She brought the tool above her head and left gravity bringing it down with a wack. She had begun to remember the handful of friends she had in the city who ignored her texts and calls after… 

“Why did I break up with him again,” She surprised herself with the words “break up,” two words she so desperately avoided acknowledgement. She loved him too much and he treated her so right. “Why didn’t it work out?” She felt her muscles begging her to stop chopping but her arms ignored them. “I guess this is why.” Her eyes became wells. 

_I wonder if he wants me back._ Blossom lifted the axe above her head again. _I would come back if he did._

_I want to try again._ She struck the stump. 

_Try again._ Blossom lifted the axe.

_And again._ She stumbled to keep her body straight. 

_And again._ She felt herself sinking backwards. She let her exhaustion consume her and laid in the growing spring warmth. 

_This is really the best I can be without him._

“Hey Farmer girl!” She quickly wiped away her drying tears but she couldn’t tell where the voice was coming from.

“Hey… ” She greeted cautiously to make it easier to come back if she did slip on their name. 

“My grandma made me bring you cookies. She baked them last night as like a welcoming gift or something," He yelled across her fields. He dropped the bag on her terrace and his eyes tried looking for her until they spotted her a few meters south towards a bunch of trees. She was on her back clinging to some axe stuck to the ground. “What are you doing?”

“I’m chopping wood,” She groaned, “For a fence.” Alex sighed and walked up to the patch of grass she was lying down on. 

“Here let me,” He sounded almost begrudging to do the task she didn’t ask him to do but Alex was only trying to act cool. He stole the axe she was grasping and started doing the work. What took Blossom ten hours to do took Alex a split second to split the wood of the old tree stump apart. “How much do you need?”

“H-how did you do that?” Her mind sputtered as her breath wheezed in the heartening sun. 

“I lift a lot,’’ He said cooly, exposing his ego, “But seriously, how much wood do I need to chop?”

“You really don’t have to. This is good for me.” She fumbled picking herself. “Seriously, I’m fine.”

“Yoba, you’re sweating like a pig. It’s not really a pretty look… Look, Grams will kill me if I don’t help you out.”

“I need enough for a 7 by 12 meter area.”

“So… um… ”

“At least thirty-eight planks,” She tiredly did the math in her head, hoping the numbers were correct. 

“I could alway cut more just in case.” He looked down at her weary worried look. “Hey, it's good exercise.”

“I’m sorry.” She finally had the strength to sit up. “I didn’t have to do this much work in the city.”

“Then, why move out here and be a farmer?” _Francis._ “Sorry, that came out wrong.”

“You’re good. It’s uh… just weird hearing it out loud,” She laughed a bit and her back went to the ground again. “Thanks by the way for helping.”

“Don’t mention it. It’s just another excuse for me to test my muscles.” 

“Do you always talk like that?” Her composure was too tired to stay intact. “Sorry, you seem so nice but yet…”

“Cocky? I get that a lot but if I don’t have confidence in myself, then who else would?”

“Hmm.” Blossom rolled over to face him. “That was pretty philosophical.” 

“Phil-o-so-phy? Must be some nerd thing…” 

“Yeah,” She laughed with the air.

“But seriously, why’d you become a farmer if you suck at farm work?”

“I don’t suck at farm work,” Blossom said, “I only suck at chopping wood.” She tried taking a different direction with the conversation but she heard the axe lose momentum. “Living in the city is just as hard.” 

“Interesting since half of the people in this shit town wanna move to Zuzu.” 

“I’m assuming you too?”

“Yeah, of course. I’m planning to try out for the Zuzu Tunnelers,” He began chopping more wood again. “It’ll be my big break.” 

“Hmm…” She hummed, listening him talk more and more about his gridball aspirations. It’s not like she did not think he had too high hopes. Though, she did envy his confidence and his knowledge of what he was going to do. Plus, she was glad the conversation lost its focus on her. 

Sebastian had come around nine o’clock to see the house lights were still bright with oddly some talking in the distance. He walked further to see Blossom working by her workbench accompanied by the never-ending talking of Alex, who was sitting on the staircase of her cabin and chugging several water bottles. 

“Yeah, so I was telling Haley not to sit on the counter since the wood was pretty old but she didn’t listen to me and it collapsed,” He cackled, handing her another hardwood spoke. 

Blossom laughed along with him but it was silent and airy. Sebastian would be lying if he wasn’t a bit jealous Alex was making her laugh. Even so, Sebastian didn’t actually hate Alex. He was more jealous of the fact that he was just like Sam. _Maybe a little cockier._ Both of them had that contagiously sunny disposition that Sebastian’s wasteland facade could never achieve. “Oh hey Sebastian.” Her smile pulled him out of his brooding.

“Sebastian.” They both acknowledged each other, despite the fact he hasn’t even talked to him since high school.

“What are you both doing?” 

“We’re making fences for her farm.” _Why didn’t she just ask me? I mean… I’m literally the son of a carpenter._ “What time is it?”

“About nine.”

“Oh shit, I gotta get back home soon. I’ll be back tomorrow to help put them up.” 

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I wouldn’t hear the end of it from Grams if I don't but uh… if you’re not busy with farm work, you should hang with me and Hals!” _We really should’ve invited her last night._

“Uh… sure? Thanks and tell your grandma thanks for the cookies.” Alex flashed a quick smile before running back home. 

Blossom turned to Sebastian, “Sorry about that, I’ll be done soon.” 

“That’s okay, I’ll just come back tomorrow.” 

“No, no. Uh… I just got one more.” Her frown stopped him from leaving. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine.” 

“I don’t know why I just started today to make fences for my farm,” She complained; her eyes returning to her workbench. “I didn’t realize how hard farm work was.” He gave her a weird look. “It’s stupid right?” 

“I mean, you worked a desk job right? I doubt it was in a town like this.” 

“Yeah, I’m from Zuzu.”

“Really? Out of all the places you could live, you chose Pelican Town,” He gasped lazily. Moving to Zuzu City was at the top of his priorities; just one job offer would be the ticket out of his depressing little basement. 

“Yeah, I know… But farm work is just as hard as living there.” She set aside the last fence part on the workbench and motioned him to follow her into her house. He really doubted that statement but he followed her. “Maybe I’m a little biased because I lived there for the past six years.” 

“You might be,” He joked, prompting her to roll her eyes. “Zuzu’s a better place than this shit-hole.” 

“I’ve doubt you have been on the subway,” She gagged. All the cars she had been in the past six years stunk of piss and vomit. She always did have bad luck when it came to the subway. 

“I have and I didn’t totally hate it.” She passed him her laptop and he began to do work. “I feel like I could get used to the smell.”

“Again, I've doubt you have been on the subway.” He laughed, noting how talkative she was today. “So um… how far are you into uh… fixing it?" It was short-lived. 

“I’m gonna download a few security programs on your laptop and let them run an analysis to check for any other malware… Then you’re all set.” 

“Thank you for doing this by the way. I know I say it a lot, but you really didn’t have to do this.” 

“It’s no big deal,” He said cooly, slightly influenced by Alex. He found her reservations endearing as much as her awkwardness. Though, the two sat in residual silence during the download time. 

“Oh… uh… do you want a drink? I only have water but I figure it’s going to take a while.”

“Uh… I actually brought a few beers to share if you want one.” His eyes motioned to the plastic bag he brought along with them. Blossom took two and laid one out for him on the table. She pulled the tab and heard the fizzle of the carbonation. She took a few sips and the taste was dangerously familiar. “Sorry, it’s Joja but it’s the best you can find around these parts.” 

“That’s fine.” She put the can down with the label facing away from her. It was a beer brand she used to share and it now felt painful to share with someone new.


	6. i hear my heart breaking tonight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter reference to Pink in the Night by Mitski and some direct quotes from Leah's four heart event. hope you enjoy!

Sebastian and the rest of the world would not see Blossom for another two weeks, with the exception of Alex, who was the last to see her a day after Sebastian had finished fixing her computer. She forced herself to go back into the mines after the Welwick’s Oracle show promised her good fortune.

“The spirits are very happy today! They will do their best to shower everyone with good fortune.” She had stopped listening after the word ‘happy.’ For the past two weeks, she had developed a schedule of waking up at six o’clock; watering her crops quickly but not too fast to where they were barely watered; and then adventuring in the mines until at least midnight. It was a very vicious cycle but distractions are too tempting to say the least. 

She found peace in the mines and while the mines could be disgustingly gruesome at times, she was alone. Blossom was always alone— this was true— but she was surrounded by hundreds of people on the streets of Zuzu and now, her new neighbors who seem to remind her of the feelings that she held now and before that she wanted to forget. She was always the only one in the mines; it almost felt like it was law and she was the enforcer as she killed monsters that dared oppose this law. She wasn’t the best at fighting and her scars and wounds proved that theory to be a more of a fact. However, at the end of the day, the gemstones she found in the deeper levels of the mines generated her a lot of profit.

Blossom trudged home earlier today than usual. She never took breaks and considered the three hours of sleep she’d have every night her break. But, there were hordes of monsters today that succeeded at their main task of driving her away this evening. She had the thought to blame Welwick for promising her good fortune but she hadn’t the clue whether Welwick said that the day before or maybe even a week ago.

“What are you doing here?” She found Leah sitting on her doorstep, reading some book she hadn’t seen before until this evening. 

“You know your mailbox has been full for quite some time?” Her eyes playfully pointed to the rickety mailbox that was literally stuffed with envelopes. “Oh and this is from Sebastian apparently.” She handed her the book that was in her hand with her thumb pressed against the sticky note he put on it. “Don’t worry, I didn’t read it.” Leah gave her an odd wink.

“Okay…” Her voice was drawn out tired. “I don’t mean to be rude but uh… what are you doing here?”

“I know you haven’t been here the longest but we’re all kind of worried about you.” Her eyes looked at her scrappy arms and legs as if they showed the reasons. Blossom forgone her jacket for the growing summer heat making her more susceptible to more scars. “Do you want to come over to my cabin?”

“Uh… It’s late and I’m a little exhausted.” She quickly found her excuse.

“It’s seven o’clock… You must be hungry from mining all day.” She had forgotten hunger.

“Sure,” She sighed, giving up and following Leah through the unkempt parts of her property to her house. 

“Sorry if it’s tiny… you must be more used to bigger places in the city.” Leah pulled out an old stool for her to sit in. Her table always had one seat. 

“Actually, my apartment was the same size as this cabin,” She laughed with the memory, “More bugs though.” Her eyes scanned the room and saw a painting hanging above the mantle of her fireplace. It was an odd place to place a painting but that wasn’t in her thoughts. 

The painting was a simple portrait of a person she hadn’t recognized. They could be a townsperson living here, a distant friend, or maybe even a client. The person in the painting was beautiful but it was not her main focus. 

Leah was obviously a talented artist. Her brushstrokes were methodical and seemed almost lyrical. The shading and use of light to convey the person’s charm was tactful and brilliant. However, her skill was not her main focus. 

“Do you like it,” Leah noted from the kitchen, noticing her fixation on the piece. “It’s not complete yet but I’m glad it’s progressing well.” It was that the painting was incomplete. There were still lines that held parts of the portrait Leah wanted to create and whitespace that disrupted the flow of what Leah had created so far. Blossom didn’t like it but she couldn’t take her eyes off of it. 

“It’s nice,” She smiled. It had been a while since she went to another person’s house before. She mainly spent time in her own home and by herself. Leaf placed a bowl of fruit salad in front of her.

“I know it’s not much but I’m kind of worried considering…”

“How did you know about that?” Her lips were held together tightly though sound still escaped. 

“About a year ago, I dealt with a similar situation… I broke up with my ex too," Leah explained. 

“That… makes sense.” Her fork played with the fruits on her plate and then stabbed her food in realization. “Oh, I didn’t mean it that way.”

“I know, you’re good,” She giggled. “But her name was Kel and… she was something. Back in the city, I used to do odd jobs during the day and spent all night working on art projects… we barely made enough to scrape by.” Blossom began giving Leah a strange look. “She was always nagging me to go back to school and study business or medicine… something with a lot of money in it. I guess the idea was to save up for a normal life. You know… a house in the suburbs, kids, PTA meetings… that sort of thing.”

“I’m sorry to interrupt and in no way am I trying to be rude… but why are you telling me this?”

“Let me finish… But anyways, I just wasn’t ready for that kind of life and I knew I had to leave. So I came here to pursue my dream of being an artist. Was that selfish of me?” 

“No… it had to be done. I mean you weren’t happy right?” This story sounded dangerously familiar. 

“Exactly, I wouldn’t have been happy back there.”

“So… again… why are you telling this to a total stranger?” Leah rolled her eyes and motioned her to eat.

“Because… I don’t know what happened with you and your ex but somethings just happen for a reason. You know… I mean you don’t Kel is a good person… or was…” Leah’s breaths were slightly unstable. “But I still loved her when I broke up with her. It was just… better for both of us to end an unsustainable relationship while we were still young and flexible.” 

“I see.” She felt her chest swell a little. “Thank you um… for telling me that.” 

“I hope that helped… I know it’s tough when it starts. But if you don’t mind me asking, when did it happen?” That was a hard question. 

“It happened a month ago.” She did manage to respond though in a shaky air. “You might know him.” She looked at the newspaper on the table.

“He works for the Zuzu Herald?” 

“Yeah… I can’t really read it again but… he’s very talented you know? He writes all of the short stories.” 

“Wait… Francis Laycock?” Blossom slowly nodded. “I loved the one called… um what was it again? The Skeleton’s Walk of Shame!” She remembered being there when he wrote it, mainly because it was the story that got him a position at the Zuzu Herald. They had been dating for a year, four months, and a week. She didn’t know why she remembered the exact date but she remembered seeing his face when he came up with the idea.

_I like it._ His ghastly smile haunted her eyes as she felt his fingers brush the top of her hands just like he did that day. _Hopefully they like it too, because we can’t afford another rejection._ They did and the story was well received from his delivery of identity and existentialism. 

_He looked so happy._ She gulped dryly and shoved a piece of fruit into her mouth. _This is good._

“But anyways, go on.” 

“Oh…” She pulled her hand away from the memory of his touch. “After he got a regular position at the Herald, we barely saw each other since I had a nine-to-five at the Joja headquarters and he often spent nights at the Herald. We couldn’t even grab lunch together because we were on opposite sides of town… Days of not having dates turned to weeks which then turned into months.”

“So, it was basically long distance?’

“Yeah, even though we live in the same town… He was always out of reach and while he was okay with it… I wasn’t and… I hated that face because I love him so much and wow...” 

_I’m never going to hear ‘I love you’ again... am I?_

“This salad is really good.” She felt like crying but she physically couldn’t. She knew Leah was going to egg her on for more emotions. “Thank you but I gotta get back to the farm.” 

“Blossom… I know you haven’t known me for very long but… it helped just talking about it.” Leah gave her a weak smile and walked her out of the cabin. “It’s okay to be feeling like this.” 

“It doesn’t feel okay,” She painfully joked. 

“It’s what reminds us that we’re… you know… human.” Soon after Leah returned back inside, Blossom silently cried all the way home, clutching the book Sebastian left for her.


	7. come into the water

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter reference to Mitski's Come into the Water and direct quotes from sebastian's two heart event :)

The day after, Blossom decided to stay inside her cabin. It was raining that day in April so she didn’t have to go out and tend to the farm. She did, however, collect the mail from her neglected mail box. 

_There’s a lot of letters about my disappearance but I was never really present._ The corners of her lips turned down in surprise. _I didn’t realize I already made friends._ She looked at the letters from Sam and Alex that asked if she wanted to hang out with their respective friend groups. She looked down at the book that Sebastian left for her and finally took time to read the note waiting for her. 

_Hey, I know it’s kinda been a while but I just finished the new volume of Cave Saga X. Thought you might want to give it a read._ His slanted yet neat handwriting caught her eye. She almost forgot she told him about her fixation to the character X. 

“You play the Cave Saga X RPG?” His voice became perkier than usual when his mouse found the icon to said game. “How far are you into it?”

“I think I got around to the fifth boss and gave up.” The fifth boss was where most players dropped the game. It was also the main reason why the game was not well-received by critics since it was almost impossible to beat. “I couldn’t figure out the current dynamics.” 

“I could help you run through it.” Sebastian had already finished scanning her computer for other malware than her office’s little ‘prank.’ 

“Would you?” She had been waiting to finish the game for so long. “I gotta find out what happens next to X.” They then spent the whole night drinking the beers Sebastian brought her and finishing the game. 

_The ending was very satisfying._ She liked how X’s character was more of an anti-hero rather than an actual hero like the other sci-fi novels she read. _But I haven’t really read the first chapters of the graphic novel… I just picked up on the games,_ She awkwardly grimaced. 

Sebastian sat on the end of the pier and watched the raindrops fight the ocean surface. He always did this on rainy days. He hated being outside and enjoyed solace more than being with other people. It was easily found in his basement but he always spent his time in his basement. When the rain appeared, the people disappeared. The beach, Pelican Town's most popular destination, was always empty when it was raining albeit Elliot and Willy, who both lived there. He was always alone at the edge of the pier, just watching the rain droplets fall. He could stay on the pier for hours until it grew dark and watch that scene. 

He decided to go back home around five because he still had to write more lines of code for a business firm near Calico tonight. It was hard to find jobs as a freelancer but when he did, they begged hours and hours of work out of him since he wasn't an actual employee. Sebastian figured he would have to take another all-nighter. 

“Hey Sebastian.” He’d almost forgotten that voice, even though it had only been a few weeks. His eyes drifted from the floor and onto a drenched Blossom. 

“You know, you suck at dressing for the weather,” He awkwardly joked to break the tension after her disappearing for two weeks. She still laughed. “Uh… are you waiting for my mom because her and all the other moms go to some exercise thing at Abby’s?” It took her a moment to figure out a response. 

“Oh… uh… I actually came here to see you.” His eyes widened in shock. He only really got impromptu visits from Abby, whom he didn’t mind stopping by but she always visited him at the worst times. “About Cave Saga X that is.” Now this excited Sebastian. 

“Oh, how’d you think about the new one I left you? I wasn’t expecting you to read it so fast but oh man…” 

“Actually, I haven’t read the first few chapters,” She giggled sheepishly though feeling a little guilt from his burst of enthusiasm. “I was wondering if you could lend me the first few volumes before I read the one you left me yesterday.” Sebastian was beginning to forget the amount of work that he procrastinated on. 

“Oh sure. Uh… they’re in my room if you wanna come down and grab them.” 

“Oh, okay.” She followed him to his basement, which made her somewhat uneasy but judging by her past interactions with him, she thought Sebastian was really cool. 

Though, his room kind of caught her off guard. It was… brighter than she expected despite the dark brick that made up his walls. It was covered in different video game posters and sticky notes in a myriad of colors with tasks he had to get done. He pulled out three books from the bookshelf right next to his bed’s headboard and handed them to her. 

“Um… if you want… you could read them in here if you want since it’s pouring.” Usually, he doesn’t really open invitations into his basement with the exception of Sam on _Solarian Chronicles_ nights and Abigail always invited herself in. But, he actually sort of enjoyed hanging out with Blossom. Ignoring his slight attraction to her, he hated small talk and Blossom was comfortable sitting with him in silence. When he was fixing her computer, she easily evaded bothering him and sat with him studying some _Farming for Idiots_ guidebooks. 

“Oh, are you sure?” He saw her reading the sticky note revealing his deadline for tomorrow. “I don’t wanna bother.” 

“You’re not… you could just hang on the couch if you want to.” He emphasized the words ‘if you want to,’ feeling as though he was pressuring her to stay. 

“Alright,” She grinned and went to the couch while he went to his computer. “As long as I’m not a bother to you.” 

“Never.” 

The two sat in silence together for three hours. He worked better alone but stealing glances at Blossom’s ever changing emotions in conjunction to the progressing plot was relaxing. As for Blossom, she’d rather be alone and she still felt alone… but from her and Leah’s talk, she found the presence of someone else comforting for once. Though, it reminded her of the times she was with Francis— alone together in her apartment as she worked on analyzing sale data from the past month and he worked on new story ideas for the Herald. It was painful, especially considering she was spending this memory with someone else. But, she soon forget the pain with each turned page. 

_I didn’t know Cave Saga X was so raunchy._ She felt cheeks burn with embarrassment while she was reading the extent of X's infatuation with the deutragonist, knowing that Sebastian was a few steps beside her. She quickly looked to see if he noticed but obviously, he was more focused on his work. She still felt some guilt for intruding and she didn’t know why she accepted his offer, but he did invite her to stay. He was kind of her only friend in town besides Leah, who told Blossom the uncomfortable truth about her humanity, and Alex, who had too much energy that Blossom couldn’t keep up with at the time. 

Sebastian’s ringtone pulled her out of her focus. “That was an instant message from Sam… I guess he wants to hang out…” She turned to him from her book with her mouth shaped like an ‘o.’ “Ugh, I don’t feel like going out again today.” With that, the two heard Robin’s footsteps head towards the basement. 

“Oh, hi Blossom,” Robin exclaimed a bit cheekily for Sebastian's grimace to notice. “Sebby, I know you don’t like it when I come in here… but I ran into Abigail at the store and she said she was looking for you.”

“Uh… Did you tell her I’m working?”

“I did… but she said she’d probably stop by anyway.”

“No one takes my job seriously,” He sighed. “No one ever bothers Maru when she’s working at the clinic… does everyone think I’m just surfing the web all day?” Robin gave him a lopsided smile and returned upstairs. 

“I’m sorry.” Blossom’s guilt returned yet again. 

“You don’t have to apologize… It happens.” 

“Why are you doing freelance by the way… if you don’t mind me asking?” He took several minutes to figure out his answer. “I mean it must be hard finding gigs.” _That’s fair._

“Well, I’m trying to save up so I can move out of here. Probably to the city or something.” 

“Oh…” She pursed her lips cumbersomely. He still didn’t understand her gripes with the city yet. 

“You know, if I’d gone to college I’d probably be making six figures right now… but I just don't want to be a part of that corporate rat race, you know?”

“I mean if it makes you feel better, I’m a college grad and ex rat, and now I’m here… still paying a shit load of college debt.” She earned a laugh from that poorly delivered joke. 

“Well, and I guess I just feel more comfortable hidden behind the computer than dealing with people face-to-face.” She realized his face was behind the monitor. “Oh, shit I really need to get back to work… I’ve barely finished this module that’s due tomorrow.” 

“I guess I should get going then.” She picked herself from the couch and headed towards the door. 

“Hey… let me walk you back.” He got up, immediately forgetting the deadline he just acknowledged.

“Are you sure? You just said you had a lot of work to do.” She cocked an eyebrow playfully. 

“I said it was due tomorrow, didn’t I,” He smirked. Lucky for Sebastian, his mother was in her bedroom, sparing him for the torture of her audacious glint when he was ever spotted with a girl. 

“It’s still pouring huh?” She looked at the rain pellets crashing onto the dirt road outside his path and melting with the dirt to create mud. Sebastian took a few steps in front of her and popped open the umbrella he stole from his mother’s store front. He motioned her to come under and the two walked all the way back to the farm. He was thankful that she hadn’t tried to make small talk like he tried to do the last time they were on this path. “Thanks for letting me hang with you today.” 

“No problem,” Sebastian gulped awkwardly, noticing how close she was. He hated how short this road was. 

“Um… also, I believe in you,” She said shyly.

“Hmm?”

“Oh uh, about your work.” Sebastian caught himself blushing. “Yeah… it’s gonna be hard without a degree but at least you’re sticking to your ideals and at the end of the day performance speaks for itself. So uh…” Blossom slipped on a track of mud right in front of her house and fell onto the ground. 

“Are you okay?” Sebastian leaned over to see if she was hurt. 

“Sorry, yeah,” She sighed and turned over to look up at the rain clouds for a moment before she had to pull herself up. But she saw the red and orange hues of Sebastian’s umbrella protecting her from the rain. Blossom wiped her eyes, streaking mud on her nose and cheeks, and Sebastian helped her up. “Thank you.”


	8. i hope you leave right before the sun comes up

Her hands grasped his cheeks and they molded around its familiar curves. She looked at his brown eyes and kissed him. 

It was still early in the morning— not much earlier than she would usually wake up. Her eyes were wide open and bloodshot. She hadn’t slept much that night because she was terrified of the ghost that stared right back at her. 

Blossom wanted to reach out and thread her fingers through his brown hair— see if he was real. She wanted to kiss him again and relive that memory over and over again. Her heart pined and yet, he was gone right before the sun came up.

Blossom went outside and sat on the porch steps. The stuffy spring air slowly turned into the hot summer breeze with each day passing. It had been almost two months but it felt like yesterday. His touch stayed with her. His smell stayed with her. His voice stayed with her, but he didn't. 

She watched the sun rise up alone. 

She shook off that nostalgia when it was seven, when the sun was almost midway across the sky. There was nothing worth watching at that point. So, Blossom spent the rest of the morning in the fields harvesting the matured cauliflower and potatoes she planted weeks ago. She had forgotten the whole memory for now and focused on ripping those vegetables from the ground. They were not of great quality but she knew she was going to make great profit off of the harvest. 

She looked at the now empty tilled soil. 

_It’s what reminds us that we’re… you know… human._ Blossom kicked the bare earth.

_What is the point?_

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading <3


End file.
